France Restricts Protests as Riots Test State Control

French authorities on Thursday, Oct. 22, banned or restricted demonstrations in Paris and several other cities after violence, looting and destruction accompanied protests the previous weekend. President Emmanuel Macron said groups he called “illegitimate” would not be allowed to protest, while approved union marches could be diverted to protect businesses. Control of public space and the right to demonstrate now sit at the centre of a national confrontation.

Who Can Take to the Streets?

In Paris, police banned a student protest planned for Thursday. A march planned for Saturday could go ahead in the east of the capital, starting at Bastille, but couldn’t enter the city centre. The Paris Police Prefecture also barred Thursday demonstrations in parts of the city until 8 p.m. (18:00 GMT), including areas near the Élysée Palace, both houses of parliament, main train stations and downtown locations where looting had occurred.

A police source told AFP the ban was necessary because organisers showed an “inability to prevent violence and vandalism.” Authorities also prohibited Thursday protests in Lyon, Lille and Grenoble. Lyon faced a ban on all protests on Saturday, while Grenoble, Rouen, Le Havre and Toulon issued bans covering their city centres. The Rhône prefecture said its decree barred demonstrations in Lyon “in light of the mobilisation that is circulating and in view of the events of 17 October.”

“The priority is a return to calm,” Macron said. He’ll chair a defence council meeting of key ministers on Friday to decide “the next steps” for demonstrations called for Saturday and afterward. His general recommendation was that there should be no demonstrations; prefects could offer union organisations alternative routes, while authorities would ban non-union protests “wherever possible.” He said he wouldn’t declare a state of emergency.

Protest organisers objected to the restrictions. Paris student leader Coppelia Moreau said the authorities were distinguishing between “‘good’ and ‘bad’ protesters.” “What we are seeing is a government that doesn’t want any demonstrations at all. That goes against the right to demonstrate,” she said. Lawyers sought a court injunction against the student-protest ban. Benjamin Ball, who runs an online map showing planned demonstration locations, said of the Saturday march restrictions: “We won’t sign off on it.” The Yellow Vest movement and unions organising cost-of-living rallies also opposed the order.

Violence and Public Costs

More than half a million people demonstrated across France on Saturday, Oct. 17, over rising living costs and school conditions. BBC reported an estimate of around 550,000 participants; French authorities cited by The Independent put the figure above 500,000. Students, unions, the Yellow Vest movement and other groups took part. Marches in several major cities stayed largely peaceful, but riots, looting and destruction also occurred.

The BBC and Al Jazeera reported that at least 2,500 people had been arrested since the disorder began. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that 174 people had been jailed and more than 900 were being prosecuted. French authorities said police had made more than 800 arrests in Paris alone.

In Lyon, looters targeted between 200 and 300 shops, and the city’s tourism office burned. Mayor Grégory Doucet called the destruction “a tragedy.” In Limoges, flames engulfed the clock tower and parts of the roof of the city hall before they collapsed. In Paris, rioters vandalised Place de la République, while police used tear gas and a water cannon. In Marseille, protesters stormed the town hall and painted an “A” for anarchy on a wall.

The protests began at a high school in Creteil, southeast of Paris, over staff shortages, then spread through class strikes, blockades and demonstrations. Students cited underfunded schools, dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods. Damage or attacks on staff forced hundreds of schools to close, The Independent reported. Students also raised concerns about hot classrooms during summer heat waves, cold classrooms in winter and a university entrance system they described as complex and unfair.

Security and Political Response

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu promised a “massive” police deployment for the weekend. Interior Minister Jean-Didier Berger said law enforcement numbers would be 20% higher than the previous weekend. Macron said the violence involved “political and even seditious acts organised by far-left groups that aim to bring down the Republic.” His government acknowledged that police lost control during the previous weekend’s unrest. Authorities imposed curfews and other security measures in several cities.

Unrest coincided with protests elsewhere in Europe. POLITICO reported that ACLED recorded more than 3,600 demonstrations across Europe in the first 19 days of October, with more than half in France and 90% of those classified as riots occurring there. Separately, Italy and Spain agreed to end mutual border checks at airports and ports on Oct. 23; officials had introduced the checks in August following the migrant crisis in Ceuta.